There is no OS out there in the market that is not vulnerable to attacks – either virus, trojan, worms or hacks. Most of the time, the vulnerabilities are inherent in the OS (think Windows 98), and other times – because of ignorance. So no surprise that not one but two worms sprung out for the iPhone in the last few weeks. First it was just a mild, funny RickRolling of the infected iPhone’s Home screen. But recently, a much more vicious worm that will do much worse is spreading.

In a F-Secure report, it says the worm connects to a server in Lithuania and although not wide-spread, it is trying to steal information from the infected devices:

This one connects to a web-based command & control center running at 92.61.38.16 in Lithuania.

However, thankfully, these worms attack only jailbroke iPhones that also installed OpenSSH and has enabled SSH. However, by default, the root password to access via SSH is the same on all iPhones and since this fact is overlooked by most users who jailbreak their iPhone, it was like having a big NEON sign that says “I am OPEN!”.

So the first thing to do if you have jailbroke your iPhone is to close that open door¹.

1. Begin by installing MobileTerminal via Cydia (alternately, you can login via SSH from Terminal.app or a Cygwin-equipped Windows PC).
2. Type “login”, you will be asked for a login name which should be “root” then a password which should be “alpine”.
3. Type “passwd” then tap return, you will be asked to type the new password. Tap return and type the new password again.
4. Repeat this same process for the “mobile” user by replacing “root” with “mobile” in step 2

Lastly, please take note that Apple doesn’t encourage iPhone users to jailbreak their phones as that might leave them susceptible to similar vulnerabilities and they won’t be responsible for any problems resulting from the jailbreaking. Likewise, we don’t post any stories promoting jailbreaking here.

¹ instructions from TUAW

Microsoft released updates for both Office 2008 and Office 2004 recently. Both updates improves stability, security, compatibility and performances. Usually updates are good things, so go burn some bandwidth and update your Office.

Wired’s Charlie Sorrel wrote a Mythbuster-like article on why Apple will not sell $100 iPhones, NetBook or Tablets. We can always wish for cheaper iPhones or for many, a Tablet, but he has his points on why those won’t happen.

Myth: According to the entire internet, Apple will, just after Christmas, sell a 4GB, $100 iPhone through Walmart. The usual excuse is made: Apple needs to sell cheaper hardware in “these troubled times.”

Look at it this way: Apple’s PC market share continues to grow. The iPhone seems unstoppable. The new “expensive” unibody MacBooks are doing just fine. Why on earth would Apple undercut its own successful iPhone line with a cheap version? If it can sell as many $200 or even $300 iPhones as it likes, why sell a $100 one?

The 4GB part of this rumor irks, also. Name one other product line from Apple which has seen a memory decrease. You can’t. The fact that Apple already discontinued the 4GB iPhone because the sales were slow compared to the 8GB model should tell us something. Yes, there might be a 4GB, $100 iPhone. It will be announced at the exact same time as a 5GB, HDD iPod. With a physical clickwheel.

Read on at Wired Blog on the rest of the myth busting, and continue dreaming.

Lastly, a MTV shot completely on a jailbreaked iPhone called Newteknowledge by GOSHone. It would be even triply-awesome if it was edited on the iPhone…but in the mean time, enjoy.
(via TUAW)

The dev team has released the latest jailbreaking tools PwnageTool and QuickPwn for those that want to jailbreak their iPhones and iPod Touch with the latest firmware.

However a note of advice from them regarding this update:

GOLDEN RULE: If you have a 3G iPhone and want potential soft unlock in the near future do NOT use QuickPwn, and do not use the official ipsw or the iTunes update process without using PwnageTool.

SIM Free/SP Unlocked/Factory Unlocked iPhone 3G

This applies if you bought your iPhone 3G for $$$$$$$. This model of iPhone 3G doesn’t have an Service Provider lock (aka factory unlocked) and you are able to put any SIM card into the phone and get service. Your phone is already unlocked so you do not need to worry about baseband updates, simply upgrade to 2.2 using iTunes and then use QuickPwn to Pwn and Jailbreak. This will add Cydia and Installer too.

As iPhones from SingTel are already unlocked, there shouldn’t be any problems jailbreaking after you upgrade as confirmed in HWZ.

As I’m not a jailbreaking-advocate, please use these tools cautiously and do read ALL the instructions before proceeding.